


The Legend

by Derek_the_Dalek



Series: All Hail The Mand'alor [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Embedded Images, Gen, Inspired by Art, Planet Mandalore (Star Wars), mand'alor din djarin, mythosaurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29584152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Derek_the_Dalek/pseuds/Derek_the_Dalek
Summary: Find a Legend and become its friend, a day in the life of the Mand'alor(Din doesn't know why this keeps happening to him but could it like, stop?? Please?)
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda
Series: All Hail The Mand'alor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131323
Comments: 22
Kudos: 164





	The Legend

**Author's Note:**

> Be prepared for some mythical handwaving magic!!
> 
> 1\. This is set waaaay before the first part of this series, like Din's only been Mand'alor for max four months, and hes goin a lil bananas

They had only been on the planet a few months before Din realised the itching under his skin wasn’t going away. His days were spent inspecting existing rooms and structure in the crumbling Capital to see what was viable and what should be torn down for parts. There wasn’t a lot that could be left as is. Arguments raged constantly, more often than not ending in physical altercations. Din would have more to say about the infighting between the others (now his _people_ ) if he wasn’t being challenged for the throne every other day.

Every morning he rolled out of bed cursing Bo-Katan for not just _taking the kriffing laser sword._ He never asked for it, never wanted it. But after just barely escaping the Dark troopers, son back in hand, Bo-Katan has left him, promising she would return to ‘take what was rightfully hers’ and Din had gone hunting for the Armourer, desperate for her guidance.

Finding her took time, but Din wasn’t the best for no reason. She and amazingly about a quarter of his original Covert were hiding out on some grassy planet. Once the Armourer, and the rest of the Covert, had seen the Darksaber hanging on his hip, and heard the story of how he got it, preparations begun immediately.

There was no more a worthy leader than someone who wielded a pure beskar spear in pure beskar armour against the Empire to save a Foundling. His Covert would follow no other, especially not an oath breaker like Katan.

The had made their way to the planet Mandalore, Boba calling often with information and rumours on other, hidden Coverts and Clans spread across the galaxy. Bo-Katan had arrived promptly after their arrival on the glass planet, bringing with her six others not unlike her in their beliefs. Clans and Coverts fought constantly, creeds clashing as often as blasters crossed.

Bo-Katan was equally as unwelcoming as the Capital, built into an extinct volcano, and surrounded by deadly peaks. Hissed insults and thinly veiled derogatory remarks met every question, until one of the very first council meetings, where the Armourer told Bo-Katan to leave after a particularly heated exchange, to go and seek out more Clans. Told her to not return without legitimate reasons. The Armourer was an Alor, a leader in her own right, and Din’s second in command. An order from her was nearly the same as an order from Din, and Bo-Katan, having challenged Din twice, and lost both times, for the Darksaber, could do nothing but obey.

Without her there, things ran a little more smoothly. Din’s Covert was used to working with each other, and they all crammed together, including Bo-Katan’s six, in one of the only areas in the Capital that was sealed against the frequent storms that ravaged the surface of the planet. They fixed what they could and salvaged what they couldn’t. The Armourer sparked the forge.

Before the sun had set of the third evening since Bo-Katan left, another Covert arrived, found, and sent, by Boba. With it, brought another two challengers for the throne, unsuccessful, and also a number of other bounty hunters; mechanics and engineers by proxy. With their respect, and their help, Din and the others were able to fix air filters, water wells, door seals. One of them even drew up plans for huge wind turbines, to provide electricity and, potentially, pull molten beskar from the core.

The Covert also brought with them Foundlings, twins. Young enough still to have not accepted the Creed, but old enough to understand the importance of what was occurring. Ahri and Mara were the first wide eyed Foundlings in the Capital, other than Grogu, and having them around settled the Clans somewhat, allowing discussions to occur that didn’t immediately resort to blaster fire.

For all their differences, Foundlings were the future in every Covert and under every creed.

The twins were not the only Foundlings for long. Before much time had passed at all, there were countless Foundlings, from infants cradled by a buir to leggy children running in the halls, mock fighting and thriving. It was the Foundlings, that truly secured Din his unwilling throne.

Day by day, more rooms were made accessible and liveable. Warning systems for the poisonous storms were set up in every room and corridor. The day the huge kitchens were cleared a cheer went through the Clans, and Din felt something settle over his shoulders, tighten in his throat.

_These are my people now._

That wasn’t to say that Din wasn’t constantly extremely overwhelmed. There was no more black space, no more empty stretches of time to allow him to catch his breath and just exist. He knew that Grogu was certainly finding it hard to have to share so much of this Buir’s time _._ He had to be on guard constantly, protect Grogu, make sure everyone was content and no one killed someone else overnight. He heard petitions and complaints as often as something broke, that is, every single kriffing second of the day.

His skin was tight, crawling incessantly and it felt like his helmet was too small, squeezing his brain. He needed a break.

They had been sending teams of two and three out into the dunes of the Wastes on the planet, creating a map. The Armourer suggested he go out on a scouting mission.

“Bring your Foundling. Be back in three days.”

And that was that.

“This might not be a good idea, Mand’alor.” Paz was not someone that could be described as soft spoken, he was head guard for a reason, but he attempted to lessen his edges when speaking to Din. He could see there was something bothering the leader, who was tense and terse. A relaxed Mandalorian was a dead Mandalorian, but Din was wound as tight as a drum, his little green Foundling similarly snappish and growly.

“Vod, I have to, I feel like…I just have to.” Din wasn’t a superstitious man, but something had hooked around his shoulders and was pulling him somewhere, and the thought of trying to explain that to Paz made his skin hurt even more than it already did. He had stalked through the entire Capital, cape swishing behind him, Grogu held snugly against his chest, searching. _For what?_ He didn’t know. Whatever it was he was hunting for it was outside the Capital and into the Wastes.

Paz looked at his leader, his _brother_ , and inclined his head. “Be safe,”

The Wastes were aptly nicknamed. They had realised fairly early on that the entire planet was criss-crossed with caverns and cave systems, all covered in the glassy sand. It was shallow enough in some places that Din has seen a speeder being swallowed, having been parked in the wrong place, and falling into a hidden cave. The empty space left open was soon filled in by windblown sands, disguising the potential death-trap. Great for enemies, not so great for resource runs. The ships certainly had to be kept a fair distance away from the Capital, on an area that seemed to be solid.

It was partly the reason that mapping had become one of the most important things on the to-do list. From what little they had found, there seemed to be almost pathways of solid rock snaking across the planet, with sheer drops into valleys either side, all hidden in the sand. Plotting these natural pathways was necessary for safe movement across the planet.

Din stepped out into the sun, the Capital disappearing behind him. Grogu shrieked happily at the shiny helmet, and Din smiled down at him. A few days of fresh air and open skies would do them both the world of good. The itch under his skin was gone, his son was happy, and Din could finally breathe again.

Naturally, that was when the ground opened up beneath them and swallowed them both whole.

Din curled his arms around Grogu, grunting as he landed flat on his back on the fallen sand, newly acquired breath knocked right back out of him. The hole they came through seemed miles above them, a tiny pinprick of light streaming in, small rivers of sand still spilling haltingly over the edge. Din’s vision danced and he groaned, shifting.

Tiny hands patted his visor, Grogu babbling urgently at him. “I’m ok ad’ika, are you hurt?” Grogu hummed a negative. Din sat up, back popping, and ran a hand over Grogu’s ears. They both turned and looked around the cave they found themselves in.

It was huge, and the walls in front of him sheer. Din could barely see the ceiling and couldn’t see the far walls at all. He groaned to his feet, attempting to re-secure his son on his chest.

“Well. This isn’t ideal.” His modulated voice echoed. Din reached up and turned on his heat seeker on his HUD, figuring it was better than nothing. He then immediately switched it back off in disbelief, then back on again.

According to his display, there was a wall of heat directly in front of them. A _moving_ wall of heat. Din stumbled backwards as the heat source moved toward them, triggering his flame thrower, and turning off the HUD display at the same time. In the light of the flames, Din came face to face with a _legend._

A giant expanse of scaled skin slipped past his vision, thundering steps like earthquakes felt in his bones. An ear-splitting shriek sprinted through the cavern, shaking loose more sand above them, allowing more daylight to stream in. The extra light brought things more into focus. There was no denying the actual, living and breathing and growling _Mythosaur_ in front of him.

Din never understood his buir as a child who told him the legendary Mythosaur was ‘city sized’. He would argue, ‘All cites are different sizes so all Mythosaur must be different sizes too!’. His buir would laugh, pat his head, and say that ‘city sized’ was the most accurate description, because what else is bigger than a city other than a planet? Child Din would sulk and complain, not understanding.

Din sent a silent apology to his buir because he fully understood now. It was enormous. Its skull, exactly like the one hung in the throne room, but bigger and covered in reddish brown scales, was easily as tall as he was. The head was balanced on a sinuous striped neck, on a muscular body. It stood in its hind legs, crouched slightly, arms and articulate clawed fingers curved in front, the huge cavern still not big enough for it to stretch to its full height. It was big enough that it could carry the _Razor Crest_ in its hands _._ It curled its long tail around behind Din and Grogu, who was watching in wide eyed silence, clutching desperately at Din’s hand, effectively trapping the pair in a wall of muscles and myth.

It moved again, settling down on its haunches, curling massive arms underneath itself, looking disarmingly like a loth cat.

Din was shaking. He couldn’t fight a Mythosaur, couldn’t keep Grogu safe, wasn’t’ going to be able to return to his Covert, to the Capital, wasn’t-

“ _Din Djarin.”_

Din leaped backwards, still clutching Grogu. He threw his eyes up wildly to meet the gaze of the Mythosaur, the _speaking Mythosaur._ It-she based on the tusks-looked down at him.

Her mouth didn’t move as she spoke. Grogu risked a peak out from behind Din’s hands. A forked tongue flickered out to greet him. “ _Clan Djarin.”_

“I thought all the Mythosaur were killed off. We…we killed you all.” Din breathed. He hadn’t meant to speak but he was faced with a legendary, supposedly extinct animal, that somehow knew his name. He was half convinced he had hit his head on the way down the sand hole and this was a delusion brought about by blood loss or something. Grogu’s shaking body dissuaded him of that thought promptly. 

The Mythosaur trumpeted, shaking the ground beneath Din’s feet, “ _You cannot kill a legend, not while my blood lurks in your veins, Din Djarin!”_ Her giant head snaked and swayed, tusks glinting in the minimal light. A spiked crest crown reached toward the roof of the cave, her skin bleeding a hundred shades of red, from almost black at her fingers to a painfully pale on her body, back to burgundy on her tail and face. Dark and light stripes crossed her arms and powerful legs, along the arch of her neck.

“ _This planet is mine as much as it is yours, Din Djarin. I was born of this planet and one day my body will nourish the ground. The sands speak, and they listen. There is beskar in my bones! We are one of the same, my planet and I.”_ Her massive head swung down to him, and he stumbled back, twisting to keep Grogu away. She blinked at him once, then pulled back incredibly fast for a creature so huge. “ _You are one of the same Din Djarin, you are of this planet. You have felt my call in your bones, and you have answered!”_ She trumpeted again, blinking at the pair.

“ _You have beskar in your spine Din Djarin! You are a willing leader, and more importantly a worthy one. You are the one true Mand’alor! My children will follow no other._ ”

“Wait what-”

From behind the huge adult slinked a smaller Mythosaur, no taller than his chest at the shoulder, although the long neck increased its height considerably. Black clawed hands clenched and unclenched, and it looked at him with glimmering eyes. Its head spines were smaller, but the tusks were already there. It crept forward, huffing the air. Grogu gasped and leant forward, reaching toward it. The small one cocked its head, taking another few steps toward Din.

“ _She is young and cannot yet speak to the sands! She will grow fast and be with you forever. When she is big enough she will guard the Keep, like my mother once did! She is of this planet, just like you! This is the Way!”_

With a timber that was felt rather than heard, the big Mythosaur, snapped forward, digging her huge face into the sand below his feet and, somehow, with a flick of her massive head, sent Din, Grogu and the small legend flying into the air.

Din barely had time to clutch at Grogu before they were back on the surface, blinking rapidly in the sun. Din staggered slightly, watching the hole in the sands fill itself in, like a wound closing in reverse. ‘ _The sands speak?’_

A sound like knocking on beskar made him look away from the sand, and toward the (his?) Mythosaur. She made the noise again, clacking her jaws together.

“Are you…hungry?” Grogu, who had been mostly quiet the entire time everything was occurring, babbled loudly. The Mythosaur stamped its feet excitedly, looking like a Tusken mastiff pup, long tail lashing behind her.

“Right let’s go home then. Back to the Cap…back to the _Keep._ ” Din took a few steps, the Mythosaur bounding after him, trumpeting loudly, but not quite as impressively as her older counterpart. Din huffed and set off toward the Keep, confident in his steps, skin no longer crawling.

Paz could only watch in complete disbelief as his idiot brother, the Mand’alor, came back from his ‘few days break’ after only three hours, with a kriffing baby _Mythosaur._

“How…” he started as Din stalked by him, the legendary mount of the Mandalorians hot on his heels, Grogu babbling at it over Din’s shoulder.

“Don’t ask.”

Paz was already dialling Boba as Din swept around the corner, the maroon tail snaking after him. Bo-Katan was gonna _love_ this.

**Author's Note:**

> Give Din a Mythosaur 2k21
> 
> 1\. She does have a name, and will likely (deffo) show up in future installments of this series. Momma doesn't have a name tho if y'all wanna help 👀
> 
> 2\. The bond between mythosaur, Mand'alor and the actual planet isn't unlike a force bond, but cooler bc mythosaur, also it's the will of the mythosaur that creates the bond, basically Din is now the Best Mand'alor ever, bc he's been endorsed by the Mythosaur. I might do like.....a breakdown of how it works?? maybe? some other time tho lol
> 
> 3\. Guys i saw a drawing of a myhtosaur on tumblr the other day an it inspired this but i cant find it, Din is sitting like in the elbow of a mythosaur whos all curled up and is really big and cute and looks down at Din like '?' and din has his arms crossed and says 'great'  
> I really wanna tag the artist in this story but my tumblr crashed as i tried to reblog and then it was gooone and i cannae find it help pls  
> UPDATE!! Y'all helped me find the artist😍😭😍 find the inspo at [X](https://magpie-allosaurus.tumblr.com/post/638032958690934784/in-season-three-we-will-see-a-sad-dad-learning-to/)
> 
> Update 2!!! Now with artttttttt!!!! Embedded art from the lovely blaiddthewolf on tumblr, who legit made me tear up when they sent me the baby !! Find their art here [X](https://blaiddthewolf.tumblr.com/post/644443192487559168/the-legend-derekthedalek-the-mandalorian)
> 
> Anyway i love u come shout at me on tumblr [X](https://cry-your-own-goddamn-river.tumblr.com/)


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